Contractors Get Affirmative Action Exemption

[julialnyc]

Contractors Get Affirmative Action Exemption
By Jonathan D. Glater
The New York Times

Tuesday 20 September 2005

The Labor Department has temporarily suspended government requirements that its contractors have an affirmative action plan addressing the employment of women, members of minorities, Vietnam veterans and the disabled if the companies are first-time government contractors working on reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

While employment lawyers said it was not clear how strong an impact the exemption would have, the move comes as President Bush has tried to address the perception of unfairness in the government's response to the hurricane.

Under the rules that normally apply to companies hired by the government, businesses with more than 50 employees working on contracts for more than $50,000 must develop an affirmative action plan. But according to a memorandum on the Labor Department's Web site, dated Sept. 9, the goal of the exemption in the case of recovery work associated with Hurricane Katrina is to reduce the burden of paperwork on government contractors and so encourage more companies to jump into assisting with rebuilding from the storm damage.

The exemption is to last for three months, unless it is extended.

"It does not waive affirmative action requirements, it does not waive job posting requirements, it does not waive their obligation not to engage in discrimination," said Charles E. James, deputy assistant secretary at the Labor Department. "It's very, very limited."

The announcement by the Labor Department came the day after President Bush announced the suspension of a law that requires employers to pay the locally prevailing wage to construction workers on federally financed projects. The order applies to parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. In explaining the move, the proclamation stated that "the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a 'national emergency.' "

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092005J.shtml
more.....

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. What does "National emergency" have to do with DISCRIMINATION????

Have I told you yet today how much I HATE those people?:grr::grr::nuke::nuke::grr::grr:

Bastards!

[calico1]

2. Exactly. And since many of the residents of NO

are Black, why the need to waive Affirmative action? There is no need. This is just an excuse to discriminate. Lovely. Minumum wage is not required, nor environmental laws, now affirmative action. I just want to hurl.

[julialnyc]

5. most of the residence are.... and you'd think it would be a great idea

to give the residence work to rebuild their city!

[CottonBear]

3. This is really bad news. Established laws are being suspended daily.

I'm sure there are no women or minorities who might need work in AL, MS orLA. :sarcasm:

[Bob3]

4. oh swell

now they can deny black people the minimum wage jobs they will be doling out case * suspended the wage laws as well a couple of weeks ago. Or two pay scales - one for decent white folk and one for everybody else - just like it was back in the old days.

I wish they would just stop helping.

[ClintonTyree]

6. Great......

not only can they pay these people slave wages now, they can make them work in environmentally unsafe conditions AND discriminate at the same time. It pretty much sounds like the OLD SOUTH to me, pre-civil war and emancipation.
A Republican's wet dream, isn't it? :grr:

[Dolomite]

7. I believe they did much the same thing in LA

when the 10 freeway collapsed after the Northridge quake.

When we're talking about re-opening the busiest freeway in the country - I thought it was OK to suspend the rules temporarily for the benefit of regional commerce.

The construction company that got the job rebuilt the thing in half of the allocated scheduled time but still took in 100% of the contract. They took weeks instead of months if I recall correctly, it was a fairly remarkable feat.

[tammywammy]

15. I believe what I heard last week

Was that the contractor said it would take 2 years and 2 months to complete the highway. It took 66 days.

The other reason that they finished so fast, was the financial incentives. They had to give a schedule to the state on when they'd be done. For every day over schedule they were fined $100,000. For every day that they finished early, they got a bonus of $100,000. I heard this on the radio, and I don't remember who was saying it, but it was some former governmental official from California.

[killbotfactory]

8. That's just wrong

Fucking republicans

[Double T]

9. We have now become a true dictatorship.......

George W. Bush is our 'National Emergency' and he needs to be removed from office before he can produce any more disasters.

[OneBlueSky]

10. BushCo has a thing for trifectas . . .

first, they get the no-bid, no competition contracts . . .

second, they get an exemption from prevailing wage laws . . .

third, they get an exemption from affirmative action . . .

three strikes and you win! . . . rack up those profits, boys . . . there's a bottomless pit of money out there just waiting for you . . .

what a bunch of absolute scumbags . . .

[julialnyc]

11. I hope this gets covered in the news

we should write in with this

[aquart]

12. So they DON'T have to hire NOLA citizens?

[julialnyc]

13. Bush is making his friends rich as usual

N/T

[Angry Girl]

14. What a heartless, racist SOB! Recommended!

First he lifts the minimum wage requirements for the contractors
http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/08/news/economy/katrina_wages.reut/

and now this! And there's no riots? WTF?

[tammywammy]

16. I don't think this is really a bad thing

As it says in the article:
"It does not waive affirmative action requirements, it does not waive job posting requirements, it does not waive their obligation not to engage in discrimination," said Charles E. James, deputy assistant secretary at the Labor Department."

and also says, "the exemption is to last for three months, unless it is extended."

It seems like it's really just to help these companies to avoid a little paperwork right at the beginning so they can get up and running, but that after the grace-period passes the paper work will be required.

And from what I know of construction owners (and yes I do know a few) they could care less about your color and more about if you're a hard worker. I think they would be hard pressed to find a white-only construction crew in Southern Louisiana.

[Angry Girl]

18. So they're saying eliminate JUST the paper trail? Like Diebold?

I'll have to see where this goes but I don't trust them. This reeks of setup.

[julialnyc]

19. seems like it is a way to send Bush's buddies some money

and avoid helping the locals (sure, anything can sound good on paper, but I don't believe this is their intentions for doing this)

[spuddonna]

17. Kiss the new deal and labor protection goodbye...

At this rate, we won't have any worker's protections by Christmas...
:mad: